Sports

Lowell falls to Lawrence in Div. 1 North semifinal

Tyngsboro s Grace Chartier (7) is safe at second ahead of the tag of Nipmuc shortstop Kali Scirocco in the third inning. Second-seeded Tyngsboro fell 3-1 in a softball upset.
SUN/JULIA MALAKIE

LOWELL -- The frustration started to mount for the Lowell High School boys volleyball team late in the third set during Saturday's Division 1 North semifinal against Lawrence.

The host Red Raiders had built a 20-13 advantage and appeared in command of this pivotal set. But Lawrence had other ideas and seemingly made one huge play at the net after another to rally back. Lowell's poise was unraveling little by little and an unforced out-of-bounds error by the Red Raiders gave the Lancers a 24-23 lead and ultimately led to a 25-23 set win for Lawrence.

Lowell never recovered, also losing the fourth set, 25-18, and third-seeded Lawrence came away with a 3-1 victory to advance to the North final on Wednesday at Tewksbury High School against Chelmsford or Wayland.

"We just didn't finish," said Lowell head coach Paul McCarthy, whose team ended the campaign at 18-3. "That's just what we were dealing with. Between graduation and prom, it's mentally taxing. I don't want to take anything away from Lawrence -- they played a great game and peaked at the right time."

The Red Raiders, who were the No. 2 seed, lost the final three sets after winning the first, 25-22. Making matters more difficult for Lowell was the fact that star senior Buth Ly was playing through a twisted ankle he suffered when inadvertently stepped on the foot of one of his teammates. It clearly limited Ly's mobility as he finished with 14 kills and two blocks.

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Seniors Chance Ly (nine kills), Desmond Dao (nine kills, three blocks) and Pirak Som (37 assists, six blocks) did their best to propel Lowell, but Lawrence (20-3) had too much firepower up front.

Miguel Jackson, Delfy Soler and Andrew Wilson each had 13 kills for the Lancers, while Wilbert Minier dished out 32 assists. Wilson was also a force with his powerful serve, tallying a team-high three aces.

Lawrence head coach Hector Sanchez used a timeout when his squad was down 20-13 in the third set and he relayed a positive message.

"I told them that we can still win this game because a lot of the points (Lowell) had we gave them, they didn't earn the points," said Sanchez. "I felt like we could've played better and that's what we did. They took the message and came back and won that set.

"When I took a timeout (in the fourth set) I told my team, 'They look down, this is the time for us to keep making plays and don't let them come back. They're a really good team, they made a little run but I'm glad we stopped the run."

These teams shared the Merrimack Valley Conference title during the regular season and split a pair of matches. Saturday's contest was, as expected, largely back-and-forth.

The Red Raiders were also in prime position in the second set with a 20-18 lead after Som came up with two crafty points with well-placed shots. But Lawrence responded with a 7-1 run to end the set and even the match with a 25-21 win.

"They're great kids and they had a great year," said McCarthy of his team.

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